Dick Turpin rides again

"AT LEAST Dick Turpin wore a mask when he robbed the drivers" reads the strike placard at South Yorkshire First's main Sheffield bus garage.

Alistair Tice

Over 1,500 bus drivers, all transport union, TGWU members, went on strike for three days last week for better pay and conditions. They will strike again on 17,18 and 19 June. A 1,050-70 vote rejected a revised, supposedly improved, offer - mainly because of the strings which would mean drivers paying for their own pay rises.

This comes after years of the company tightening the screw on drivers' conditions. 42 drivers left the job last month alone. "Would you be abused, threatened and gobbed at for Ł5.36 an hour?" one driver asked.

It's not like the company can't afford it. Last year South Yorkshire First made around Ł10 million profit, about a quarter of First Group's total profit. Their offer amounts to about Ł1 million. "So where's the other Ł9.1 million going?" another driver asked. The answer is fat cat pay increases.

The First chairman's salary has gone up 59%. Another director gets Ł510,000 a year and was given Ł18,000 for a Range Rover. "His car cost twice as much as I earn a year" one driver said.

This same director's pension is worth Ł2.85 million, yet First workers have had to pay extra to maintain their pensions.

The strike is 100% solid. One striker walks five miles to the picket line every morning (no buses). With the strikes set to run into a second week, the mood is determined to win the Ł6-an hour claim for starter-drivers (currently Ł5.36), rising to Ł7 after two years (currently Ł6.49 after four years.)

Messages of support and donations to: Martin Mayer, TGWU, 2 Riverside Court, Meadowhall Road, Sheffield 9. 0114 256 2600

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